With America suddenly discovering the existence of soccer in the past couple of weeks, and World Cup fever sweeping the nation, it was only a matter of time before movies started turning up based around the beautiful game. But we didn’t expect the first one to be quite as what-the-fuck as it’s turned out to be.
Actor Dermot Mulroney, best known for the likes of “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and “About Schmidt,” is currently making his directorial debut with the romantic comedy “Love, Wedding, Marriage,” which toplines Mandy Moore and Kellan Lutz, but he’s already lining up his next directorial project. Mulroney and his producing partners have secured the life rights to George Weah, the one-time Paris St. Germain and A.C. Milan striker who was once named the FIFA World Player of the Year (the first African player to take the title).
Since retiring, Weah became involved in humanitarian efforts in his native Liberia, using his influence to help child soldiers give up their weapons, and was instrumental in ending the dictatorship of former leader Charles Taylor. He ran for president in 2005, to vicious opposition (his home was burned down), and eventually lost a disputed election. The law was changed after his defeat to state that a Liberian president had to have a college degree, but that hasn’t stopped Weah; he’s currently studying at a university in Miami, and hopes to run again.
It’s a pretty great story, and you’ve got to applaud Mulroney for his passion and ambition for it; as he says, “Man can’t live on romantic comedies alone. It was a good starter kit for me as a director. But if I’m actually going to have legs as a director, I need to do the same things as I’ve done as an actor; one of everything.” We actually rather like the actor/director; after a series of bland performances in the 1990s, he’s been consistently excellent recently in the likes of “Lovely & Amazing,” “Zodiac” and “Undertow.” While we’re yet to see his talent as a director, fingers crossed he gets this one moving. [Hollywood Reporter]